Kerala government declares Jackfruit as official fruit of state

The Kerala government has declared Jackfruit as the official fruit of the state to promote the ‘Kerala Jackfruit’ as a brand in markets across the country and abroad. The brand will showcase its organic and nutritious qualities. This would also help in giving in the fruit’s production and sale, besides increasing its value-added products. It is expected that the state can generate Rs 15,000 crore through sale of jackfruit and its allied products through branding of the fruit. As per officials, Kerala has been producing around 32 crore jackfruits every year, of which 30% gets wasted. Elephant is the state animal of Kerala, while ‘great hornbill’ the bird and ‘kanikkonna’ the official flower. The state had recently declared pearl spot, popularly known as ‘karimeen’, as its official fish.